О святителе Амфилохии Иконийском

St. Amphilochius, having shone with his exploits and Divine knowledge, in 374, under the emperors Valentinian and Valens, became a bishop in Iconium and spoke out in defense of the Divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit. He was one of the 150 fathers who took part in the Second Ecumenical Council, and opposed the Doukhobor Macedonius and the remaining followers of Arius. He acted wittily with the great emperor Theodosius: according to Theodoret 257 or Sozomen 258, he greeted him himself, but did not greet his son Arcadius, who had only recently been installed as king, saying only to the emperor’s son: “Hello, child” - and wagging his finger. So St. Amphilochius convinced the aforementioned emperor to issue a law that heretics (Arians and Macedonians) would no longer convene Councils and discuss the essence and nature of God, and that anyone who violated this law would be punished 259. Answering St. Amphilochius, in response to his question, Basil the Great sent him 27 chapters about the Holy Spirit. Despite the fact that Rule VI Omni. 2 affirms all the works of the saint, however, in the “Pandects” there is only this definition about the authentic books of the Holy Scripture, which is why we present it here. In the saints of our father Amphilochius of Iconium. Poems to Seleucus about which books should be recognized But especially you should know that not every book is trustworthy, even if it bears the respected name of Scripture. After all, there are, sometimes, books with false names: some of them, one might say, are average and they are close to the word of truth, while others are counterfeit and very dangerous, like counterfeit and counterfeit coins, which, although they have a royal inscription, are counterfeit in their composition. Therefore, I will name you each of the inspired books, and so that you know everything clearly, I will first name the books of the Old Testament. The Pentateuch includes Creation, then Exodus, Leviticus in the middle, then Numbers, and then Deuteronomy. To these add the books of Jesus and Judges, then Ruth, the four books of Kings and the two books of Chronicles, followed by the first and second Ezra. Next, I will name five books of poetry: the book of Job, crowned for his exploits in manifold sufferings, the book of Psalms, euphonious healing for the soul, three books of the wise Solomon - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. Add to them twelve prophets: the first - Hosea, then the second - Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah and Jonah, a prototype of the three-day Suffering itself; after them Nahum, Habakkuk, then the ninth - Zephaniah, Haggai and Zechariah, as well as the glorious messenger Malachi. After them, recognize the four prophets: the boldly speaking great Isaiah, the compassionate Jeremiah and the mysterious Ezekiel, the last one is Daniel, the wisest in both word and deed. Some people include Esther among these books. The time has come for me to name the books of the New Testament. Accept only four evangelists: Matthew, then Mark, counting Luke third among them, consider John fourth in time, but first in the height of dogmas, for by dignity I call him the son of thunder: he praised God the Word more than anyone else. Take also the second book of Luke - the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Also add the chosen vessel, the preacher and apostle of the pagans - Paul, who wisely wrote fourteen Epistles to the Churches: one to the Romans, to which should be added two to the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, then to those living in Philippi, then written to the Colossians, two Thessalonians and two to Timothy, and one to Titus and Philemon and the Jews have one thing (some call it counterfeit, but they say it incorrectly, for in it is genuine grace). What's left? Some say that seven conciliar Epistles should be accepted, others only three: one of James, one of Peter and one of John, and some accept three Epistles of John, in addition two of Peter, and the seventh of Jude. In a similar way, some recognize the Apocalypse of John, but most call it fraudulent. Let this be the most unfalse canon of the inspired Scriptures. And this rule does not need interpretation, since it does not contain anything other than listing the true and authentic books of the Old and New Testaments. First, a comparison is made: just as many coins, although they have a royal inscription, are not real, but counterfeit and counterfeit, so many books, although called the books of Scripture, are nevertheless counterfeit and heretical. Please note that these verses are also incorrect in size in many places, but we wrote them down in the form in which we found them. See also Apost. 85. And about the fact that there are two Apocalypses of John, one genuine and the other counterfeit, see the Apostle. 60. Book 5, ch. 16 (PG 82, 1229ВС.). Book 7, ch. 6 (PG 67, 1428С-1429А).